Discaya construction firms bagged billions beginning in 2016 – Garin

The construction companies of the controversial Discaya couple bagged tens of billions worth of government projects every year since 2016, based on the company’s financial statements that were obtained by Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin.

- By JOSEPH PEDRAJAS

During the House Infrastructure Committee (infra comm) hear ing on the anomalous flood control projects in the country on Tuesday, Sept. 9, Garin wondered who helped Sarah and Curlee Discaya to secure such a large amount of projects.

She raised the question considering that the couple started with almost nothing financially compared to the amount of projects they eventually cornered.

Garin, a House deputy speaker, cast doubt on the Discayas' implication of a select few House members as they appeared to have amassed wealth at the time of the Duterte administration.

Based on their financial statements submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Garin noted that Discaya-linked firms reported zero revenues in 2014 and 2015, and just P99.25 million in 2016.

But by 2017, revenues surged to P1.034 billion, a staggering 942 percent increase from the previous year.

Their revenues got even higher in the succeeding years-P12.05 billion in 2018, P13.55 billion in 2019, P16.07 billion in 2021, P20.52 billion in 2022, and P18.62 billion in 2023.

And these were reportedly buoyed by earnings from government projects.